Behind the Pink Rabbit's Painting
by Steffi Silberstreif
Summary: Kind of a sequel to 'Full Moon': Sirius, James and Peter finally become animagi


  
A/N: I want to send a very big Thank you to my wonderful beta reader, Nezad.   
  
Behind the Pink Rabbit's Painting Steffi Silberstreif   
Together they sat in the secret passage behind the painting of the pink rabbit. In their midst was a battered cauldron, with books and parchment lying around 

James, Sirius, Peter. 

They had worked for three years, and tonight it should happen. It was the night of the full moon, and it was that night of the year when the transfiguration into an animal was least dangerous. 

For three years, they had managed to hide their plans so that the fourth boy of their group didn't notice anything. They had obtained books from the restricted area of the library by fraud, 'borrowed' with the help of James' Invisibility Cloak. They had 'provisioned' themselves with rare and powerful ingredients. But it wasn't till today that they had finally gotten the whale snail eggs. 

They had used every night of the full moon and the following night, as Remus didn't notice their absence during those times. But on other occasions also, one of them would disappear to work in the library or here in the secret passageway. It had become something like another common room for them, and they stored snacks on a shelf: some bottles of pumpkin juice, Berties Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs and Cauldron Cakes. Hour after hour, they had sat here, pouring over books and studying spells for this potion. Now it was time. 

They had attached some torches to the walls, because they couldn't cast a lumos-charm; they needed their wands for their project. 

They wanted to become Animagi. 

Three boys, fifteen years old, intended to learn one of the most difficult of the magic arts; the Animagus transformation was not as simple as the changing of a hare into a tin. 

The cauldron before them was filled with a greenish liquid. Boiling, steaming, spelling. 

James began to cast the first spell. Sirius and Peter each started later, speaking slowly and precisely. 

They dipped their wands into the liquid and murmured the second spell. They added couple of spoonfuls of flobberworm mucus, then waved their wands. 

This is how they worked for almost an hour. No professor ever expected that from Sirius. 

At midnight, when the time was beneficial, they each filled a goblet with the potion. 

James and Peter looked at Sirius. All had agreed that he would try the potion first. The others sat there, keeping an eye on him, ready to interfere if anything should happen. But it would be difficult to know when something was wrong as they didn't know exactly what *would* happen -- in spite of all the books they had read. 

They also didn't know what kind of animal they would become. They could only concentrate on the size of the animal and hope to get a proper Animagus-form. 

"Wish me luck," Sirius said quietly. Now, at the last moment, he was not as sure as he had been throughout the past three years. 

But they had an important reason, Sirius thought and he pulled himself together. Now or never. 

He put the Zonuti-tooth in the liquid. The potion bubbled for a moment while the tooth disintegrated. Once more Sirius waved his wand across the goblet and murmured another spell. Then he took a gulp. 

A bang resounded, a yellow flash briefly shined - and a huge, black dog was sitting at the place where Sirius had been sitting. 

The dog looked around, puzzled. He tried to get up. It took him several seconds, but then he was standing wobbly, not used to being on four legs. 

He lumbered on big, soft paws around James and Peter and wagged his tail as he sniffed their hands. 

"You're a really beautiful dog, with paddy paws, a real padfoot," James said while stroking the thick, black fur. 

A soft bang was audible, a yellow flare, and Sirius was sitting between his friends, James' hand still in his hair. "It worked!" Peter yelled frantically. 

"Woof!" Sirius said and guffawed, relieved and happy. 

James, too, was glad that his friend had had no problems with the transfiguration and especially with the detransfiguration. 

The biggest problem for an Animagus was that he had to transform back without his wand. His concentration on his human form had to be strong. 

"I couldn't wish another Animagus-form! It's perfect, a wolf and a dog..." Sirius said. "And 'Padfoot', that's good..." 

"We'll call the dog Padfoot then. It needs a name!" James laughed. 

"The transfiguration, it's an amazing feeling. Everything seems to be much more simple," Sirius said. 

"Maybe that's because a dog's brain is much more simple than a human's." 

"Don't slander before you know what animal you will become - maybe a newt or a woodlouse!" Sirius replied, laughing. Now that he had successfully gone through the Animagus transformation, he felt euphoric. "Now, James, will you try next? By the way, it tastes as bad as it looks!" 

James took... took his goblet without a word, threw the Zonuti-tooth in it and waited for it to stop fizzing. He, too, waved his wand, murmured some words and drank. 

Again yellow lightning and a loud bang appeared. Next to Sirius and across Peter, there stood an impressive stag. He, too, seemed to stand a bit unsteady on his four hooves. With a hardly audible pop and a yellow glimmer, darker than a just-doused candle, there was a black dog sitting in the pathway, sniffing at the stag's leg. 

He howled quietly, and after a moment, with a yellow shine and a silent pop, the stag retransformed into James. Without even a hint of a light or a sound Sirius was sitting in the passage again. 

"Wonderful!" James exclaimed. "That's great. But standing on hooves is really odd. I suppose, it's more easy for you, Sirius." 

"Now it's my turn," Peter said. They had chosen him to become a small animal, so that they could pass the Whomping Willow. A cat, a hare, a bird - something that could pass the branches. 

He, too, did everything as Sirius and James had done. Again there was a lightning and a boom, and a - rat was sitting between them. 

The rat looked around, run in a circle around the cauldron and sat down in his place again. His two friends stared at him. 

"Peter, transform back!" Sirius finally said. 

The rat still sat, unmoving. 

"Peter!" James shouted. "That is NOT funny!" 

The rat didn't move. 

"Peter! You CAN'T transform back?" Sirius asked, worried. 

The rat shook his head. 

James and Sirius yanked out their wands. They pointed them at the rat and cast a spell together. 

Slowly the rat grew and again became the thick, pale boy he had been. 

"Peter, what happened?" James asked, concerned. 

"I don't know," was the answer. "I didn't know how to transform back." 

"You just have to imagine how you look like and how you feel as a human. We'll try again," Sirius suggested. The next moment a black dog was sitting on the floor again, and a stag followed with the hint of a yellow shine. The rat reappeared with the light and sound of the others' earlier transformations. 

The dog couldn't help but sniff at his friends and hunt after the rat. The small creature hid behind a rock in the passage, with the dog barking loudly at it (he was surprised how deep his bark was). The rat started to change. Slowly, very slowly, it grew, until Peter was standing huddled against the wall -- trembling as a rat trembles when it is caught and has no way of escape. 

The dog, too, transformed back to Sirius, who was looking at Peter. "It wasn't that difficult, was it?" 

"I - I - tho - thought you want- -wanted to go - gorge m - m - me." Peter was still trembling. 

"Well, at least you re-transformed almost without help. James?" 

James had tucked away the ingredients and disabled the potion as they didn't need it any more. He had also cleaned the floor, and now he was walking to Sirius and Peter. "I think we should go to the Shrieking Shack now," he suggested. They went along the long passageway. The exit was near the lake. They silently sneaked around the castles edge and ran to the Whomping Willow, hidden in the tree shadows. 

This time they didn't even need the long branch they normally used to make the willow stand still. Peter transformed and ran through the branches to touch the knot. 

"Padfoot," James laughed, "Come on! There are only five hours left until the sun rises." 

Sirius ran over to his friends. "Just wait until we find a nickname for you! And Peter... Peter, with the thin tail... Thin as a worm... Wormtail! You're Wormtail." 

With these words, he followed his friends through the large gap, ready to meet a full-grown werewolf. 

They ran along the narrow tunnel; they could hear angry growling at its end. 

For three years, they had gone this way every sunrise after the full moon, to be with Remus when he felt worst, after he transformed back. Aside from the first time, they had never been afraid, they knew what to expect, and they knew that Remus was not ...dangerous then. 

But this time they all had an unpleasant feeling, just as they had before their first visit in the Shrieking Shack. They didn't know if a werewolf attacked Animagi or not. 

But they had to try; else three years of work had been wasted. 

Reaching the end of the tunnel, they again transformed into their Animagi forms, Padfoot, Wormtail and the nameless stag. Together, they entered the room. 

At the far side was the huge werewolf, snarling, salivating, ears pointed, with bloody jaws. Upon seeing them, the werewolf drew back, unsettled; he had never met other animals before. 

Then he attacked. He seemed to have decided to attack the easiest victim first, and he attacked the rat. Padfoot knew immediately he had to interfere. 

Within seconds, he was between the werewolf and the rat. The wolf immediately bit and buried his sharp teeth in Padfoot's neck, deep through fur, skin and flesh. Padfoot howled in agony. 

The werewolf appeared puzzled. He licked his jaws and stared at the three animals. Slowly he backed away. Slowly the stag came nearer, and Padfoot, too, sat up now. The werewolf calmed down by degrees. He went to the dog he had attacked only moments ago and gently licked the wound he had caused. 

In the end the four animals - or actually the three animals and the dangerous beast - were sitting together, curiously sniffing at each other. 

In the meantime, the huge stag had learned how to stand on thin legs and small hooves. They began to play together, hunting through the shack, mock fighting, and trying out new and old powers. 

After a while they also played with the things they found in the room: the old rug, the broken chairs, and the remains of the table. But the bed was spared as they knew Moony would need it later on, dry and clean and neat. 

Only when the dawn came did they notice how exhausted they were. They brought Moony into the bed, and Padfoot lay next to the wolf. Wormtail and the nameless stag slept on the rug next to the bed. 

Sirius was awakened by a movement behind him. He heard a quiet moaning. Slowly he opened his eyes. Remus was laying next to him, half human, half werewolf, in the middle of his painful transformation. 

Since they were regularly with him at daybreak, Sirius was not surprised by the change's effects, and knew of the pain Remus was suffering. He transformed into his human form and gently stroked Remus' head to show him that he was not alone. He took the blanket and covered his friend. Doing this he noticed how little Remus had injured himself during the night. Less scratches and only one bite in his arm. 

Remus opened his eyes. Cautiously, because of his headache, he looked around. Sirius was sitting next to him on the bed, looking sleepy. And hidden next to a stag, was a rat laying next to the bed on the floor. 

"What..." croaked Remus quietly, "What does that mean? I mean, the stag and the rat... And I can... I can remember last night... I remember what I have done... And there had been a dog..." Sirius smiled and transformed into his animagus-form. For a moment he enjoyed the wonderingly look on Remus' face, then he transformed back. 

"What...? How did you do that?" Remus asked, amazed 

"Animagus. For you. So that we could be with you." Sirius smiled. 

"You did that for me? That isn't easy. And it's... dangerous," Remus said. 

"You're worth it," Sirius simply said and lay next to Remus to sleep again. 

The sun was shining when Remus woke up again. Dumbledore knew that Sirius, James and Peter stood with him after the night of the full moon. So he had full confidence that the three looked after him, and nobody was waiting for him. 

He looked around again. Now there were no animals in the room any more, but his friends, Sirius, James and Peter. The latter two were laying on the rug at the bad, Sirius snored quietly next to him on the mattress. After a while James woke up, too. He looked into Remus' eyes. "Good morning," he greeted. 

"You really did that for me?" Remus asked unbelievingly. 

"For whom else? During the last three years we studied everything we could find concerning Animagi. And last night we did it," he told him proudly. 

Remus felt a movement next to him, and Peter, too, woke up. 

"You became Animagi?" he asked, still astonished. 

"Yes, we wanted to help you. And last night... That was fun," Sirius said. 

"But I attacked you as a reward for it," Remus said. 

"You... You remember last night?" James asked. 

"Yes, for the first time. I didn't feel as wild as usual, more like... More the way I feel as a human. Well, not completely, but almost." 

"Than it was worthwhile," James said and groaned, "but we shouldn't tell anybody. On the one hand, it's illegal, and on the other they would want to know why we did it." Gathering round the bed, all four laid their hands together: "We swear we will never tell anybody what we've done." 

"We even have nicknames," Peter said proudly. "I'm Wormtail. Sirius is Padfoot. Only James still hasn't a nickname." 

"James, a stag... With antlers... Maybe something like this?" Remus asked. 

"Antler... deer head... Maybe Prongs?" Peter looked at James for approval. James smiled and nodded. "OK, Prongs is good." 

And after sealing that, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs went along the long tunnel, towards the Whomping Willow and the Castle of Hogwarts. 

  
  
  
  
Disclaimer:   
  
All the characters belong to JKR.   
Please r/r, please no flames, but I like getting constructive criticism  
  
Thank you  
  
  
  
Steffi Silberstreif  
  
  
  



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